PINE PLAINS — The Town Board met on Thursday, Jan. 3, for its annual organizational meeting, at which time it took care of a number of municipal matters stretching from appointments to wages and salaries. Before beginning with the details, a 35-minute executive session was held to deal with those appointments and salaries.Once the board returned to the table, the work of the “re-org meeting” got underway. Town Supervisor Brian Coons ran through a long list of positions to be appointed and reappointed for 2013.Coons was first on the list, as town supervisor; he was also appointed as budget director. Donald Bartles was chosen as deputy supervisor. Town Clerk Judy Harpp was renamed clerk to the board; she was also appointed as the registrar and marriage official. Herman Haire was appointed officer in charge of the Pine Plains Police Department (this appointment was later debated and at the end of the evening unconfirmed due to legal uncertainties; for more turn to page A1). The following were appointed police patrolmen: Michael Lawson, Keven Kemp, John Hughes, Robert Hazelton, Justin Bogdanffy, Joseph Killmer and Ryan Lukach.Warren Replansky was reappointed as attorney to the town. Drew Weaver was reappointed as code enforcement officer. Catherine Prentice was reappointed as recreation director.Pat Bossolini was reappointed bookkeeper to the supervisor. Karen Pineda was reappointed as secretary to the supervisor. Ann Noone and Eileen Ciaburri were reappointed as deputy town clerks. Noone was also appointed deputy registrar and Ciaburri as tax collector.Little Nine Partners Historical Society was chosen as town historian.Maryann Lennon was reappointed as court clerk; Ursula Plick and Colleen McGarry were named part-time court clerks.Nancy Proper was reappointed as Planning Board secretary, as well as secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals. James Mara was appointed as chairman of the assessors.Heather Wilson was appointed as secretary to the highway superintendent and the assessors. Gary Pezze was appointed as deputy highway superintendent.The Bank of Millbrook and JP Morgan Chase Bank were chosen as the official banks. The Millerton News was named the official newspaper.Gary Keeler was reappointed as water superintendent to the Pine Plains Water Improvement Area (PPWIA) while Ray Jurkowski was renamed assistant water superintendent. Debra Phillips was appointed clerk to the PPWIA. Morris Associates was reappointed as the engineer to the town as well as the PPWIA engineer.Fred Wilbur was reappointed as cleaner. Drew Weaver was reappointed as zoning enforcement officer. Scott Chase was reappointed as the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) chairman. Margo Jackson was reappointed for a five-year term on the ZBA. The ZBA alternate is Helen Fuss. The zoning board’s meeting date was set for the fourth Tuesday of the month, if needed, at 7:30 p.m., at Town Hall.Gregg Osofsky was reappointed as chair of the Conservation Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC’s meeting date is the second Thursday of the month at 2 p.m.Scott Chase was reappointed as the chair of the Trails Committee. Jack McQuade was reappointed as chair of the Affordable Housing Task Force.Craig Shelley was named as the All-Hazard Mitigation Plan representative.Mileage will be reimbursed per the IRS standard rate.The Town Board’s meeting date will remain the same: the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, at 3284 Route 199, Pine Plains. The supervisor was authorized to enter into contract with the Pine Plains Free Library for services.The Planning Board appointments were not made; they will be made at the board’s next meeting, set for Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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